Page 50 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

Aarav turned serious. “Zarya, you saved my life that night. This doesn’t make us even at all.”

She nodded and swallowed, trying not to cry. Yasen would be mortified.

“Thank you,” she said, meaning those words more than she ever had in her life.

“C’mon.” Aarav slung an arm around her neck and directed her back to the canteen. “Let’s get some pakoras before they’re all gone.”

FOURTEEN

After her humiliation in the fighting yards, Zarya requested a leave of absence from her Khada duties for a few days. Not because she couldn’t face the others, but because her mind was filled with too many opposing thoughts, and it was obvious her training was suffering from a lack of concentration. She wouldn’t do anyone any favors until she sorted some things out.

Today, that thing would be the presence of the demon army plaguing her dreams. The young vanshaj man in the canteen had seen them, too. She was sure that’s what she’d read on his face.

She had to find the woman who’d confronted her after the ajakava attack. When she entered the palace, she asked around until finally, someone directed Zarya towards her.

When the woman saw her approaching, she stood, regarding Zarya with wariness.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Zarya said. “Can I speak with you alone for a moment?”

The woman nodded as she tightened the dupatta over her head, and the two of them retreated to a private corner.

“I didn’t ask your name last time,” Zarya said.

“It’s Mahi.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mahi. I’m Zarya.”

The woman blinked, clearly on her guard.

“Will you tell me where your sister lives?” Zarya asked, and Mahi’s face drained of color.

“Why?”

“Because I’d like to ask her about what she saw.”

The woman shook her head, opening her mouth, but Zarya cut her off.

“Please. I won’t tell anyone else, but I need to speak with her. I promise not to get her into any kind of trouble.”

The woman hesitated, and Zarya waited, hoping Mahi would sense her desperation and her sincerity.

“You swear not to hurt her?”

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t let anything happen.”

“Fine,” the woman said, digging out a scrap of paper and a pencil from a pocket. She scribbled an address on it and handed it to Zarya. “Her name is Meera. Tell her I sent you.”

“Thank you,” Zarya said.

She took the paper, scanned it, and then nodded to Mahi before she went in search of Yasen. She had to talk to someone about this, and wouldn’t mind some company during this task.

She found him at Ambar Fort, overseeing the day’s training.

“Can you take a break?” she asked. “I need you to come somewhere with me.”

She handed him the paper with Meera’s address, and his eyebrow arched.

“What do you need in the vanshaj quarter?”